There are all kinds of simultaneous interpretation booths. Some are very pleasant places to work in, while others make the interpreters' job more difficult because they are not properly designed and built.

We want to give you some tips on how interpretation booths can be designed according to ISO Standard 2603 on built-in simultaneous interpretation booths, to make them places where interpreters can do their best work, and conference delegates can enjoy the best in multilingual communication.

There are two international standards that contain the requirements for built-in simultaneous interpretation booths and equipment:

There are other details that are important to bear in mind from the start, which can mean the difference between well-designed booths that will make it easier for interpreters to do their job and ensure a pleasant, fruitful experience for conference participants, and poor design that can lead to frustration later when it may be too late to change anything.

These pages contain a few design pointers, based on ISO Standard 2603 plus some additional details drawn from interpreters' experience. However, the Standard contains much more detailed information than we can present here and must be consulted in the planning stage.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The conference hall

How SI booths fit into the design of a conference hall

A checklist for designing and building SI booths

Location of booths in the hall

The booth area

Communication with the technicians and the conference room

The booth

The booth dimensions

Visibility from the booth

The workspace

Lighting in the booth

Soundproofing and acoustics in the booth

Climate control in the booth

Simultaneous interpretation equipment

The interpreter's control panel

The sound system

Some important details in the sound system and equipment

Download the full report in PDF format below.

Articles published in this section reflect the views of the author(s) and should not be taken to represent the official position of AIIC.

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About this section

Communicate! is published by AIIC, and its aim will be to provide news and views on all aspects of the conference industry as they affect conference interpreters. But it's not just for interpreters. It is meant to be a resource and a forum for anyone involved in the language profession, whether as a practitioner, a client, a student, or a teacher…